The Lincoln Squirrel – News, features and photos from Lincoln, Mass.

News acorns

No charges filed in 2016 bike accident

No criminal or civil motor vehicle charges will be filed in the wake of an accident in Lincoln on June 16, 2016 that claimed the life of Eugene Thornberg of Wayland. Thornberg, 61, was killed while bicycling on Route 126 just south of Hillside Road. The decision comes after an investigation by Lincoln Police Department, Middlesex District Attorney’s office and Massachusetts State Police. 

A second fatal accident involving a bicyclist last summer is still under investigation, Lincoln Chief of Police Kevin Kennedy reported. Westford resident Mark Himelfarb, 59, was killed in an August 17 accident on Virginia Road about 200 feet north of intersection with Old Bedford Road.

Eric Chivian to speak at LLCT gala

Dr. Eric Chivian with a Colombian tree frog.

The Lincoln Land Conservation Trust annual meeting and 60th anniversary celebration takes place on Thursday, May 18 from 6–9 p.m. at the Pierce House. The evening starts with a reception and music by Colonial Jazz with Jim White and hors d’oeuvres by Trail’s End Cafe. Wine and beer will be served.

After a brief business meeting at 7:25, Dr. Eric Chivian, physician and Nobel laureate, will give a talk on “Human Health and the Environment.” Chivian will discuss how medical models can help people understand the implications of our altering of the global environment by translating the abstract, technical science of these changes into the concrete, personal, everyday language of human health.

While a staff psychiatrist in the MIT Medical Department, Chivian co-founded International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, which won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1985 for its efforts to highlight the implications of nuclear conflict for global health. He is on the Harvard Medical School faculty and directs the nonprofit Program for Preserving the Natural World, Inc. Copies of his book Sustaining Life: How Human Health Depends on Biodiversity will be available for purchase.

Bike to school on May 19

In celebration of National Bike Month, and in collaboration with Lincoln Cycling Safety Advisory Committee, hop on your bicycle for an environmentally friendly, good-for-your-body, fun ride to school on Friday, May 19. Don’t forget your helmet!

Dr. Timothy Johnson at St. Anne’s

Dr. Timothy Johnson

Physician, author, minister and St. Anne’s-in-the-Fields Church parishioner Timothy Johnson will host a forum on the state of U.S. health care and what’s at stake with the new administration’s proposed changes to the Affordable Care Act at the St. Anne’s on Sunday, May 21 at 9 a.m. That afternoon, Still Your Soul will be a service of Contemplative Holy Eucharist, with time to soothe the soul before the beginning of another busy week.

Town seeks members for new community center planning group

The Board of Selectmen is seeking volunteers for the new Community Center Planning and Preliminary Design Committee (CCPPDC) to fill the roster by June 12 after approving the charge to the committee on May 8.

Residents approved $150,000 at Town Meeting in March to commission a feasibility study and draft design for a community center to be located on the Hartwell side of the school campus. The facility will meet the needs of the Parks and Recreation Department, and the Council on Aging as well as other town groups. The CCPPDC will work closely with the newest School Building Committee (SBC), which held its first meeting on May 3.

Selectmen are seeking four community members to serve on the CCPPDC who have experience in fields that are relevant to the committee’s work, such as architecture, planning or design, project management, or community engagement. Those interested should send letters of interest, mentioning relevant experience, to the Board of Selectmen via email to at ElderP@lincolntown.org by Friday, June 2.

The board will appoint members of the CCPPDC at its meeting on June 12. The committee will hold its first meeting the following week and will present public updates (including at the fall 2018 State of the Town meting). If possible, there will be a final report and/or town vote at the spring 2018 Town Meeting.

As its long name implies, the CCPPDC has limited scope, selectmen said. If and when the town chooses to move forward with a community center project, the committee’s preliminary design and cost estimate would be developed by a community center building committee.

The duties of the CCPPDC will include:

  • Gathering stakeholder input, and plan regular communication with and input from relevant town boards, committees, and the community.
  • Hiring a design firm to develop preliminary design plans and provide detailed cost estimates. Selectmen and the School Committee hold out the possibility that one firm could be hired to support both the school building project and the community center process.
  • Developing a detailed program of activities that would take place in a new community center and an assessment of space requirements and optimal adjacencies for the program
  • Evaluate several previously identified community center building locations within the Hartwell area, and any others that may be identified, and develop a preferred building location and supporting Hartwell campus site plan. This will require close coordination with the SBC, particularly with respect to things like future plans for the after-school program, the school’s shop area, any changes in use at the Hartwell main building, parking demands, any reorientation of the Ballfield Road roadway network or playing fields, the possible use of the pods as swing space during school construction, potential shared space opportunities, etc.

“Options for the community center must pair logically with options for the Lincoln School project to ensure all current and desired functions of the campus are included in the overarching plan for the campus,” according to the CCPDC charge.

As with the SBC, membership on the CCPPDC will entail many hours, hard work, and complicated conversations, but also offers a unique and exciting opportunity to participate in the creation of a central piece of the community and the future of the town, selectmen noted. Anyone with questions about the responsibilities and expectations of committee membership should send email before the deadline to the e-mail address above.

The PPDC will also include representatives from the Board of Selectmen, Council on Aging, Parks and Recreation Committee, Planning Board and Finance Committee. Selectmen are encouraging additional boards and committees such as the Conservation Commission, Green Energy Committee, Historical Commission, parent organizations and the Disabilities Commission to appoint liaisons to the CCPPDC.

Hydration station opens in Station Park

Lincoln Garden Club members Sue Seeley and Agnes Wiggin, and Lincoln DPW foreman Steve McDonald.

The Lincoln Garden Club dedicated the new public hydration station at Station Park in South Lincoln on May 6. The water fountain will allow pedestrians and bicyclists to stop for individual drinks of water and fill water bottles.

In a brief ceremony, Garden Club members thanked some of the people who helped create the facility, including Chris Bibbo, superintendent of the Department of Public Works, and his foreman, Steve McDonald, who performed the installation; and the Board of Water Commissioners and Greg Woods, superintendent of the Water Department, who funded the water connection. The Garden Club provided funding from previous fundraisers, particularly the garden tour in 2015. Sue Seeley cut the ribbon to officially open the hydration station.

Station Park was created in 1970 and has been maintained by the Garden Club since 1972. In 2015, the club installed a native flower bed with over 300 plants.

After that everyone enjoyed a refreshing glass of Lincoln water. The photos courtesy of Bob Wadsworth is of Lincoln Garden Club members Sue Seeley and Agnes Wiggin and Steve McDonald, Lincoln DPW Foreman. The other is of Denise Bienfang, Club president

Denise Bienfang, president of the Lincoln Garden Club.

Group uses humor and art to tag gas leaks

Athena Montori hangs one of the gas leak signs along with a tasseled scarf on a tree near Lincoln Woods.

A group of enthusiastic volunteers posted “tree couture” tassels to mark gas leaks in town on May 7.

Lincoln’s chapter of Mothers Out Front staged the event to draw attention to underground gas leaks. They hung brightly colored scarves—knitted by members and decorated with tassels as part of a “tree couture” designed by landscape designer and artist Carol Michener Card—along with notices calling attention to some of the underground natural gas leaks in town. These leaks contribute to global warming, but utilities are not required to repair them unless they pose an immediate danger. There are more than 40 known leaks in Lincoln.

Along with opening speakers, organizers sold “leaky lemonade” in cups with holes purposely punched in the bottom to illustrate the idea that consumers still pay for leaked gas.

Alex Chatfield pretends to be outraged at the lemonade leaking from his cup as Selectman Jennifer Glass (left) looks on.

Lincoln Mothers Out Front listen as founding member Trish O’Hagan speaks about mobilizing for a livable climate.

News acorns

Clark, Moulton to speak at Dems breakfast

Congresswoman Katherine Clark as well as Congressman Seth Moulton will speak at the 3rd Middlesex Area Democrats breakfast on Saturday, May 13 at the Hilton Garden Inn (450 Totten Pond Rd, Waltham). To make a reservation, contact Gary Davis (garyddavis@gmail.com) or Barbara Slayter (bslayter@comcast.net).

Seacoast Stompers play in Bemis on Saturday

The Seacoast Stompers present an afternoon of Dixieland jazz and swing on Saturday, May 13 from 2–5 p.m. in Bemis Hall. The group has played monthly at the Acton Jazz Cafe. Click here to watch a video. Sponsored by the Friends of the Lincoln Public Library and Classic Jazz at the Lincoln Public Library.

Artists invited to show work at library

Lincoln Public Library’s lower-level Stay Put art gallery has openings for shows this summer and the upcoming year. Unlike the main gallery, this area requires application process and no juries are involved. Artists do not need to be Lincoln residents. Anyone interested in displaying work should contact Assistant Director Lisa Rothenberg at 781-259-8465 ext. 202 or lrothenberg@minlib.net.

Author Andre Dubus II at Fatherhood Project event

The Fatherhood Project presents “A Celebration of Fatherhood: Strengthening Family Connections” on Friday, June 16 from 6:30–9 p.m. in Bemis Hall—a night of food, drinks, music, and honoring fathers’ impact on everyone’s lives. The guest speaker is Andre Dubus III, author of Townie, The Garden of Last Days, and House of Sand and Fog. The Fatherhood Project is a nonprofit program at Massachusetts General Hospital whose mission is to improve the health and well-being of children and families by empowering fathers to be knowledgeable, active and emotionally engaged with their children.

Sign up for girls’ basketball clinic

A basketball clinic for girls entering grades 2–9 in the fall of 2017 will run daily from Monday–Thursday, July 10–13 from 9 a.m.–2 p.m. in Gym 1 at Lincoln-Sudbury (LSRHS). The program will be run by the coaching staff and members of the LSRHS basketball program and will include skills, drills, games, competitions, prizes and more. Participants should wear sneakers and comfortable clothing, and bring a lunch and a water bottle to the clinic each day. All participants will receive a T-shirt and an individual player evaluation. Registration is complete when the $225 registration fee (check made out to LSRHS Girls Basketball) has been received by Kathleen Thompson at 390 Lincoln Road, Sudbury MA 01776. If you do not want to mail a payment, you may drop your payment off at the LSRHS front office. The registration deadline is Tuesday, June 27. Anyone with financial hardship or other questions may contact Kathleen Thompson at lsgirlshoops@gmail.com.

Multi-sport court will be ready within weeks

The new multi-sport court will be located just north of the “tot lot” playground behind the Brooks gym (click image to enlarge).

The multi-sport court that was formally proposed in 2015 will become a reality by June, according to Parks and Recreation Director Dan Pereira.

Residents approved spending $146,000 at Town Meeting in 2015 for an outdoor facility that could be used for basketball, tennis, street hockey, volleyball and other sports. The court will go next to the “tot lot” playground near Codman Pool, which is now closed while it’s being reconfigured in a slightly narrower space to accommodate the new court.

The court took longer than expected to put in place because the site is close to wetlands and required a permit from the Conservation Commission as well as input from a wetlands engineer, Pereira said. That process included studying the pros and cons of other possible locations in town.

The sport court will have lighting so it can be used at night, and it will be installed over a water-permeable grid rather than a concrete pad. This means that the court can be moved without too much trouble if it should have to be relocated as a result of a school and/or community center building project.

The project also includes a new boardwalk to more directly connect the sport court area to the playing fields next to Codman Pool.

The 45-by-80-foot court, which is expected to be ready to use some time next month, can be changed by Park and Rec officials for use by multiple sports, depending on school and community interest, “It’s something that’s not very hard to reconfigure at all,” Pereira said. For example, netting mounted on light poles can be raised or lowered depending on whether it’s being used for tennis or volleyball, and it could even be flooded in winter for ice hockey.

The town’s after-school tennis program will also get more playing time next spring, because the court will be ready for use as soon as the snow melts, unlike the clay courts that need more time and maintenance to recover from the snow and ice. The new facility will also be the only official-size outdoor basketball court in town, Pereira noted.

Clothespin bridge? (Lincoln Through the Lens)

Harold McAleer caught this mirrored image of Lee’s Bridge on a calm morning on the Sudbury River.

Readers may submit photos for consideration for Lincoln Through the Lens by emailing them to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. If your photo is published, you’ll receive credit in the Squirrel. Photos must be taken in Lincoln and include the date, location, and names of any people who are identifiable in the photo. Previously published photos can be viewed on the Lincoln Through the Lens page of the Lincoln Squirrel.

Service on Monday for Ted Charrette, 57

Ted Charrette

A memorial service will be held on Monday, May 8 at 11 a.m. at the Stone Church (14 Bedford Rd.) for Edmond E. (Ted) Charrette, who died on May 3 of brain cancer. He was 57. The family will hold visiting hours on Sunday, May 7 from 2–6 p.m. at the Douglass Funeral Home,  51 Worthen Rd., Lexington.

“Ted loved Lincoln, which he saw through the eyes of his children, and as someone who relished running its trails, cycling its roads, skating the ponds and river, canoeing on Farrar Pond, visiting Codman Farm, and participating in town and youth sports activities,” said his friend Deborah Howe.

“Wrapping up his tenure as treasurer of Lincoln Youth Soccer, last year he arranged the collection of used youth soccer uniforms (thanks again, Donelan’s, for hosting the dropoff boxes) which he then sized, sorted, and distributed to children’s soccer teams in Africa and Central America. He enjoyed Lincoln’s small-town neighborliness, and appreciated the back-fence flavor of this list, the chance encounters with friends and colleagues in Donelan’s, on the trails, and of course, at the transfer station, where he could compare notes on chicken-raising, bee-keeping, wood-splitting, or lawn tractor transmission-rebuilding with fellow Lincolnites.”

After finishing his first career in technology business development, he became a math and science teacher, and tutored a number of local students in math. He loved to teach, and in addition to being an avid cyclist, a marathoner, hiker, and skier, he combined two loves by teaching skiing at Wachusett Mountain on winter weekends until 2016.

Ted leaves two sons, Freddy and his wife (Marta) of Princeton and Jackson of Durango, Colo.; a daughter, Cecelia Charrette of Cambridge; and two grandsons, Roberto Rafael Charrette and Edmond Alexander Charrette. He was the beloved son of Edmond E. and Maria T. (Spaziano) Charrette of Lexington, and brother of Susan Charrette of River Forest, Ill.; Thomas and his wife Jennifer of Yarmouth, Maine; Steven and his wife Julie of Wenham; and Paul and his wife Monika of Menlo Park, Calif.; and uncle to eight nieces and nephews. Donations in his memory may be made to the National Brain Tumor Society, 55 Chapel St. Suite 200, Newton, Mass.

School Building Committee holds first meeting

The new School Building Committee, appointed by the School Committee on April 11, held its first meeting on May 3. Members voted to appoint Chris Fasciano as chair, Kim Bodnar as vice chair, and Selectman Jennifer Glass as secretary.

As outlined in its charge, the SBC will create a feasibility study resulting in plans and cost estimates for a Lincoln School renovation project costing at least $30 million. In March, voters approved releasing $750,000 to fund work by consultants the group will hire. The group will work closely with a community center building committee, which will be producing its own feasibility study.

The SBC’s next meeting will be Wednesday, May 17 at 7 p.m. in the Hartwell multipurpose Room. The tentative agenda includes a review of a draft Request for Services (RFS), the first step in the hiring of an owner’s project manager. A subcommittee comprising Creel, Nicholson, and Sugar is preparing the draft for review by the full committee.

Members of the SBC are:

  • Becky McFall, Superintendent of Schools
  • Buckner Creel, Lincoln Public Schools Administrator for Business and Finance
  • Michael Haines, Town Facilities Manager
  • Sharon Hobbs, Brooks School Principal
  • Timothy Christenfeld, School Committee
  • Jennifer Glass, Board of Selectmen
  • Gina Halsted, Finance Committee
  • Kimberly Bodnar, community member
  • Chris Fasciano, community member
  • Craig Nicholson, community member
  • Steven Perlmutter, community member
  • Peter Sugar, community member

The following liaisons were also appointed by their respective organizations, with more expected:

  • Doug Adams, Liaison, Historic Commission
  • Ed Lang, Liaison, Green Energy Committee
  • John Ritz, Liaison, Lincoln Council on Disabilities
  • Ian Spencer, Liaison, Public Safety
  • Gary Taylor, Liaison, Planning Board

News acorns

Plastic bag/bottle ban approved in Sudbury

Sudbury voters approved a ban on the sale of plastic grocery bags and single-serving plastic water bottles at their Annual Town Meeting on May 2, according to the MetroWest Daily News. The measure, sponsored by members of Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School’s Environmental Club, was the same as one proposed for Lincoln’s Annual Town Meeting in March. That measure was passed over amid concerns about enforcement and objections from the owners of Donelan’s and Lincoln’s two new restaurants.

Correction

The May 2 letter to the editor by Valerie Fox about the Sophia Adams sampler misstated Fox’s title. She is the deputy town clerk. The article also had a typographical error stating the amount of money Adam’s father left. The correct amount is $2,133.73.

Garlic mustard pull

Lincoln’s annual garlic mustard pull is underway. Free paper bags for the collection of this invasive plant will be distributed to residents at the transfer station on Saturday, May 6 from 9 a.m. to noon, courtesy of the Lincoln Garden Club. The Department of Public Works has a designated area near the cell tower at its Lewis Street facility for residents to drop off bags of garlic mustard. Additionally, the Conservation Department will pick up full bags in neighborhoods through May 31 if you contact them beforehand at 781-259-2612 or trails@lincolntown.org  The DPW and the Conservation Department ask that you not put any wall lettuce in your bags. For more information about garlic mustard, click here.

Lincoln Directory on the way

In the library’s Tarbell Room are Lincoln Directory volunteers Graham Walker, Tucker Smith, Kim Bodnar, Kelley Raghavan, Barbara Low, Agnes Wiggin, Julie Brogan, Belinda Gingrich, and (front row) Kathleen Nichols and Elinor Nichols. Not shown: Cathy Moritz, Carole Kasper, Lindsay Clemens, Bryn Gingrich, Ian Gingrich, Paul Gingrich, Patience Sandrof, Mark Sandrof, Margaret Flint, Connie Olsen, and Susan Pease. (click to enlarge)

Each household in Lincoln will be receiving a copy of the 2017 Lincoln Directory in the mail this week. This biannual Lincoln resource produced by the Friends of the Lincoln Library contains a plethora of Lincoln information. The publication is produced by Lincolnites who raise funds, edit, design, put the booklets in envelopes and deliver them to the post office. It’s funded by advertisements, so be sure to let our businesses know you appreciate their contributions. Additional copies can be purchased at the Old Town Hall Exchange and at the library.

PMC kids ride to benefit cancer research

The Lincoln PMC Kids Ride for children ages 3-15 takes place on Sunday, May 21 on the Lincoln School campus. Kids can ride by themselves or get a team together to compete against other groups. All money raised goes directly to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. The three rides (a loop in the Hartwell parking lot for parentally supervised riders on tricycles, bikes with training wheels, and balance bikes; a quarter-mile loop around center field; or a two-mile loop through the school campus) are from 8:30–9:30 a.m. followed by festivities including music, dancing with a DJ, a bouncy house, a mechanical bull, arts and crafts, and an ice cream truck. Pre-registration fee is $20 ($25 on the day of the event: $25). Fundraising required minimum: $25. Click here to register.

Lincoln Tree Tour, photo contest on June 4

The Lincoln Garden Club reminds residents that the entry deadline for its tree photo contest is Sunday, May 21. Contestants may submit up to four photos of trees, located anywhere in the world. Pictures don’t need to be recent as long as they were taken by the submitter. Please read the photo contest rules.

Photos will be displayed at the Pierce House on Sunday, June 4 from 5-7 p.m. during a champagne reception to celebrate the launch of the Lincoln Tree Tour. The tour, which takes place from 1–5 p.m., includes directions to five special tree sites together with self-guiding information regarding distinctive features, history and botany. Children are welcome on the tree tour, but the champagne reception from 5–7 p.m. is an adult-only event. Questions? Contact Daniela Caride at danielacaride@gmail.com or 262-416-1616.

Run in ugly bridesmaid dresses to benefit Lovelane

Joanna Schmergel models her running gear.

Lincoln resident Joanna Schmergel is spearheading Runaway Bridesmaids, a fundraising running team that will be part of Run for Lovelane, which will benefit the Lovelane Special Needs Therapeutic Horseback Riding in Lincoln. It involves a team of women running the annual Run for Love 5K charity road race honoring Susan McDaniel. The race is on Sunday, June 11 at 11 a.m. in Weston. Runaway Bridesmaids will run in poofy, dated, and/or ridiculous bridesmaids dresses. Anyone who would like to join the team or has a dress to donate may contact Schmergel (617-645-9059 or owenjoanna@yahoo.com) to arrange for pickup. You can also stuff them in a trash bag and leave them at her house at 18 Cerulean Way. Runaway Bridesmaids are going to run at a very slow pace, and all team members who are willing to raise just $50 each and run the race in costume can be part of a group picture (in full garb) with one of the horses at Lovelane. Click here to donate or join to the Runaway Bridesmaids. To register for the race or start your own fundraising page, click here.

CSAs are up and running

Distribution of produce from Lincoln’s three CSA food share programs begins soon. The Food Project’s CSA farm share starts on Tuesday, June 6, while Drumlin Farm’s CSA begins June 14 and the Lindentree Farm CSA begins around the same time. The Food Project and Drumlin Farm also offer pick-your-own CSAs.